AMI’s James Lancaster argues that when so much of our professional life has been compressed into screens, feeds and notifications, conferences seem a little quaint – people travelling for hours to sit beside colleagues, listen to someone imparting information and then chat about it over a coffee. But this quaintness increasingly looks like the point.
The International Association for Relationship Research Conference turned research into conversation through a community event at Social Bite. More than 660 delegates gathered in Glasgow for the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) Conference 2026, but some of the conference’s most meaningful conversations took place away from the main programme.
The Mozambican government has approved a strategy to develop business tourism in the country through to 2030. The strategy projects annual revenues of US$106 million alongside increased inward investment and economic capacity building, through the hosting of 38 international conferences, congresses, and other professional events.
Singapore’s MICE industry is moving into a new phase of sustainable growth, with the launch of MICE Sustainability Roadmap 2.0, placing social and economic sustainability alongside environmental considerations. Announced at Singapore MICE Forum 2026 by guest-of-honour Gan Siow Huang, the refreshed roadmap was developed by the Singapore Tourism Board and SACEOS.
Companies are placing conference attendance under a microscope, sending fewer employees than in previous years — or choosing not to send anyone at all. 56% of respondents to GBTA’s recent survey said their organisation has changed its meetings or events strategy in the past three months, with 24% saying they are reducing employee event attendance.
In June 2026, Vienna hosted the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. The Festival of Robots, taking place ahead of the congress, and sustainability focus, formed a core pillar of the impact strategy by bridging science with the local community, while the Community Building Day highlighted DEI in science, encouraging inclusive environments in STEM.
TEAMS: TRAVEL, EVENTS AND MANAGEMENT IN SPORTS, is the world’s leading conference and expo for the sports-event industry. Presented by SportsTravel, and hosted by the Greater Birmingham CVB, TEAMS ’26 will be held October 26–29 in Birmingham, Alabama. For more than 25 years, TEAMS has helped define the sports-event and appointment-based trade show industries.
Northstar’s TMS APAC is the leading tradeshow gathering event organisers and suppliers to connect, contract and forge new partnerships within the global MICE industry. Discover leading destinations, venues, hotels and other key MICE suppliers, complemented by an exclusive hosted buyer programme, bringing senior meetings, conventions, events and incentives buyers to a bustling tradeshow floor.
David Adler takes a critical look at the threat to scientific and medical meetings should US federal regulation OMB-2026-0034 go ahead, prohibiting grant recipients from attending conferences not named in the original grant proposal (in practice, an impossibility!). David also brilliantly articulates the processes by which face-to-face meetings generate scientific insights and progress.
The UFI European Conference 2027 will take place in the historic city of Rimini in Italy, where industry leaders will gather to chart the future of face-to-face events. IEG’s expansive Rimini Expo Centre provides the perfect setting to explore the latest innovations, challenge conventional thinking, and strengthen the connections that drive our industry forward.
The UFI Asia-Pacific Conference will return in 2027 in one of Asia’s most inspiring destinations: Bali, Indonesia. The conference will once again bring together exhibition industry leaders from across the region and around the world to connect, exchange insights, and explore the trends shaping the future of exhibitions in Asia.
The Global CEO Summit (GCS) is an invitation-only conference for CEOs and equivalents from international exhibition organisers and venue operators. Participants can look forward to high-level networking with global industry leaders, exclusive CEO insights on challenges and opportunities ahead, and future-focused strategies shaping the exhibitions sector.
Bringing together exhibition and events industry leaders from Latin America and beyond, the conference will serve as a key platform to exchange insights, explore opportunities, and strengthen connections in Central & South America’s largest exhibition market. This year’s edition will be hosted by the Brazilian Association of Exhibition and Events Industry.
M&C Asia Connections is an exclusive tabletop tradeshow that unites Asia’s top suppliers and global buyers in the MICE industry. This premier event offers a compelling agenda tailored for forward-thinking MICE professionals to forge impactful connections through pre-scheduled one-to-one business appointments and enriching networking sessions.
The AIPC Annual Conference is the Association’s flagship event, designed for senior leadership and decision-makers across convention centres and the wider events ecosystem. At the same time, the Conference also actively engages future leaders of the industry through the AIPC Future Shapers programme, with high-potential professionals presenting their projects.
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In 2016, Alicia Yao became the Chief editor of Association Innovative Development, a quarterly magazine owned by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, China Association for Non-Profit Organization (CANPO) for the executives of over 2,300 China National level associations. In 2018, She co-founded China Business Event Industry Committee (CBEIC) jointly with CCPIT-CSC and serves as its…
The WONCA Conference resulted in action for local and global rural health sectors, with the launch of The Aotearoa New Zealand Declaration on Rural Health 2026, a national roadmap setting out six priority areas to strengthen rural health systems, and a global initiative focusing on international collaboration, policy advocacy and sharing practical solutions. From TTGmice…
The recent cancellation of a prominent African financial conference comes as confirmed Ebola cases surge, raising questions about whether more meetings will be impacted, not just within Africa itself, but at events in destinations such as India and the Middle East which have traditionally relied on large numbers of African delegates.
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